She split opinion when she made her big red-carpet entrance at The BRITs last week in a lemon-yellow minidress and long hair extensions – a world away from the sleek, pared-down looks she’s been showcasing in the past two years since meeting estranged husband, Frenchman Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.
And sources say her new look is all part of a strategy to sex-up her image and signal a fresh start in the wake of her marriage split.
Cheryl, 32, – who hit the headlines last week for her secret three-month romance with One Direction’s Liam Payne, 22 - is bouncing back after a year of lying low and planning on hitting the party scene in a bid to revamp her image and stay relevant to her fans.
A source says: “Cheryl’s weathered the heartache after her split from JB and now thinks she deserves to have some fun and her recent sexy Instagram shots are just the start. She knows JB will see them, and her outfit at the BRITs will have rubbed his nose in the fact that she’s moved on and is back to being the old Cheryl.”
Read the full story in this week’s Closer magazine